


Stay

by CrimsonFirebreeze



Series: Hiddles Diddles [8]
Category: Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-02
Updated: 2012-08-02
Packaged: 2017-11-22 13:09:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/610170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrimsonFirebreeze/pseuds/CrimsonFirebreeze
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam comes home to find Tom upset and brooding over a phone call from an ex-girlfriend that could bring her world crashing down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stay

**Author's Note:**

> Picture prompt and also written to Good Enough by Evanescence and Never Say Never by the Fray
> 
> Also on my Tumblr.

Sam gave a relieved sigh as she walked through the door and saw Tom sitting on the couch. She closed the door behind her and ventured deeper into his flat, tossing her keys on the counter. She approached him slowly, not missing that he hadn’t greeted her yet. She watched him as she came to stand by him, concern taking over her when he continued to ignore her, his eyes remaining fixed out the window. She tentatively reached out and stroked his hair and he sighed softly, pulling away from her touch. She bit her lip, her heart seizing. He was never so cold towards her. It wasn’t in his nature. She let her hand drop back to her side and was turning to leave, resolving to let him be. His hand closing on her wrist stopped her and she turned to his him facing her, though his eyes were downcast.

“Don’t leave,” he said softly. “Please. Stay.”

His eyes flicked up to her and she caught the sadness in them. She nodded and he let her go, playing with his fingers in his lap, his eyes focusing there. She stood there silently, waiting for him to speak, not wanting to push him. Something was very wrong and she knew he’d start talking when he was ready. This was hard to watch. Tom, the eternal optimist, upset beyond words. It hurt her to see him this way.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” he said finally.

“What are you talking about, Tom.”

“You.”

Sam looked at him, trying to make sense of what he said. She shook her head, questioning him with her eyes as he glanced at her. As his eyes flicked away, her heart began to sink and for the first time in their relationship, she was dreading the words that would come tumbling from his lips.

“I don’t know what I am doing with you anymore,” he sighed, his voice full of emotion. When she didn’t say anything, he continued. “I feel like I am leading you on and I feel awful for it. I can’t bear the the thought of hurting you but I don’t feel right continuing this.”

She continued to stand there, not speaking, not moving. Just watching him. She didn’t know how to take this and realized that she had gone quite numb at her core.

“Please say something,” he begged. “I feel like an ass right now.”

“What do you want me to say,” she asked with a little too much force, causing him to flinch.

“Anything?”

“What brought this on, Tom?”

He sighed, leaning forward, elbows resting on his knees. He rubbed his face for a moment before sliding his hands through his hair, currently it’s natural color and cut short. She could tell he was chewing on his bottom lip, a habit of his that under any other circumstances would drive her crazy.

“She called today,” he said. “Wanted to see how things were, like usual.”

Sam didn’t need to hear the name of the woman he was speaking of. She knew who it was, having discussed the woman in question at length when the relationship first began. Tom turned his eyes to her again and he looked conflicted, his eyes rimmed in red from crying and her heart broke for him. How many times had she been in his position in her own life? Tears were welling up again and she didn’t know if she could stand here and watch him come unraveled in front of her.

“I still love her,” he said barely above a whisper. “And it’s terribly unfair to you. And I just… can’t do this knowing that I’m hurting you. And… and you must hate me.”

“Is that all,” she asked, feeling slightly relieved. “All of this simply because you loved her first?”

“Well… yes,” he sighed again, returning his face to his hands. She smiled a little and went to him, dropping to her knees in front of him. She pushed his hands away, replacing them with her own, drawing his eyes back to hers. She gazed into the shimmering silver depths, wiping away the tears that fell, fingers brushing lightly against his trimmed facial hair.

“It’s okay,” she breathed, leaning up and pressing her lips against his, her eyes remaining locked with his until he succumbed to her, lids falling heavily over mercury-colored pools. She felt his fingers brush her jaw as his hand slid by, seeking to come to a rest against her neck, his thumb stroking her cheek.

“How do you not loathe me, Kitten” he whispered against her lips, eyes still closed.

“Because I understand,” she answered, as he nuzzled her, smiling at her pet-name. “I’ve been here before too.”

“What am I going to do?”

“What do you want to do?”

His eyes opened and focused on hers again as he said, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Is there hope,” she asked seriously and his brow furrowed.

“There’s always hope,” he replied, the sorrow back in his voice as he sat up, leaning back against the couch with a heavy sigh. “That’s why it’s unfair. And why I am at a loss.”

She watched him for a long moment before moving so that she was between his legs, her hands resting on either side of his hips. He looked down at her, eyebrows raised, like he was expecting her to say something. Instead she kissed him again and this time he sighed and she knew he was frustrated. Still, his hands cupped her face.

“Stay with me,” she said against his mouth and he pulled back look at her, his brows knitted together. “Please, Tom. Stay? If it’s but a hope, why remain alone and hurt yourself too?”

“But-“

“Shh,” she silenced him with a finger to his lips. “No matter what, if hope became reality, you’d have to hurt me. Now or later. And if it never comes to pass, you’ve hurt us both for naught. So stay?”

Tom took a deep breath, “Is this what you really want? You might hate me for this later.”

“I could never hate you,” she said softly and the sincerity in her voice must have shocked him because his eyes began searching hers almost frantically before softening.

“Alright, I’ll stay,” he gave in. She smiled and he pulled her to him, his lips brushing hers as her arms wrapped around his shoulders, his crushing her to him as he pulled her off her knees and into his lap. She broke away from the kiss, only enough to gaze into his gray eyes, her hand caressing his cheek lovingly. He offered a little smile that was more in his eyes than on his mouth as his hand found hers, long fingers slipping between hers. He held their interlocked hands over his heart as he nuzzled her again while her head settled against his shoulder.

“Because I love you too, Kitten,” he whispered against her forehead and pressing a kiss there, squeezing her hand gently. She smiled, knowing he meant it and that if she looked into those clear eyes of his, they’d only confirm it with heart-wrenching sincerity that had the power to shake her to her core. She opted, instead to remain the way she was, his heart beating steadily under her hand and snuggled into the warmth of him.


End file.
